Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-12-24
THE ERA OF SLANG.
EXPRESSIONS WHICH SEND THE
CReEPS UP A PURlST'S BACK,

Words for Which No Possible Excuse
Can 81 O~fered-Even the Fair Sex
Have Caught the Notwithstanding.
Not Beautifying.
The era of slang ia upon us with a
breadth that Is almost appalling. Not
wholly the slang that might he defined rs
the burlesque or %colloquial form Of ex-
preston, the lang uage Of low humor, or
the jargon of thieves and Migrants, but q
species that is almost rs reprehensiblc.
1t will not do to apologize for 1t by say.
ing that ''slang is probably as old as
human speech" and that the early writer's
indniged in it, especially the Greek and
Roman dramatists; and while we may
speak and write against the pernicious
habit, we suspect that we will not grow
Disguised enough with 1t to thoroughly
upr"ot it until it has reached its china
The worst fact about 1t Is that It Is not
confined to the low and the illiterete, but
has invaded the public schools, cultured
society and the literature OF our books. .
admit hat some Of the slang expressions
are forcible and full Of adequateness,
among which l might name fired out"
colossal cheek" etc. Still, even they
ought to be tabooed.
But what excuse can possibly be offered
for such words as ''galloot," "sardipe,"
''chump," ''kicker, " ''kid," etc.' Or such
'Waltzed off OH his ear" ~ should
snicker," "Now you're shoutin'," etc
They are scarcely emphatic and certainly
not polite. Even the fair sex have caught
the infection and speak about his ''royal
,ilc > IN fla s.borl;n, ,,yaIl y Tho rvtrl ~
today is ready to ''bet her bottom dollar"
wants to know 'what you're givin' her.
lets you know that you are ''off your
base" and insists hat you shall ''com6
of, " ''vanose," ''skedaddlc," '~absquatu-
late, 1" and all that. You do her a slight
favor and she exclainls, ooh, thanks, aw-
reverend fear Is beyond your compre-
hension. Ask her to sing your favorite
sentimental ballad and she will probably
say, "Oh, really, Mr.. -, ! cawn't. It's
too utterly, %too-toov'
WASTED SYMPATHY.
While playing lawn tennis with her she
suddenly cries out, ooh, you've given me
such a twist" You feel exceedingly
alarmed; you are afraid that her collar
zone is broken or that at least her wris'
has been dislocated. You discover, how.
ever, that it is but tennis slang and that
your sympathy has been wasted. She
confidently tells you that Jennie Some
body is mo good" and had the "cheek'
to propose TO ''stratch'' her at tho meet
ing Of the club, because she hadn't
''forked over" the ''spondoolicks" for
the last quarter. All that is to be depre-
Gated, but the girls, heaven bless them,
look SO pretty. and use the terms SO art.
lessly, that l haven't the heart to be se-
we're In my reproof.
1t isn't pleasant to he accosted ny ones
5-year-old hopeful rs IAN old snooz.r'' or
to n that he is lying in wait to
KNOCK the stuffin' " out of n neighbours
boy, or to wipe up the floor with him.
Or to hear our short skirted but high
spirited daughter tell the aforesaid brother
that she wishes the other boy would
paste him on the ~snoot," or 'knock him
clean out the box" or Unto the middle Of
next week" l don't know that | am es-
pecially sensitive, and yet l must say that
such expressions send the creeps up my
back,
The editor "swin9s a nasty quill" tho
hired girl is a pot rastler;" when a thing
suits us it's ''just the cheese;'' when too
noisy we are told to dry up" or to ''sus-
pend;" when cunningly on the alert we
say, mot If the court knows ITSELF il
one day is not available Smother one
is; when we die we pass in our Cheeks
are put away on ice" and are finally
planted" So might go on ad inflnitum.
You can think, / am sure, of at least q
hundred words and phrases to which ]
have made no reference. For %inventing
cute words and phrases our country leads
the procession. They are clever and APP
propriate, get into the topical song, tho
public ''catch on" and they live and
thrive, and in many instances the diction-
airy finally legitimizes them.
Slang, l insist, is the fungus on the
stem. 1t is not the grated fruit. 1t is
the of language. 1t often belittles;
it never beauties. II we oil spoke and
wrote in a less exaggerated manner we
would be less exaggerated in our ways Of
life and thought. Life, as well as speech,
would perhaps grow more simple, moro
true, more worth iving.-''ObseEver'' In